


Things you said when you were scared

by spiritcrimson



Category: Death Note
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Wammy's Era, headcanon that Near and Mello started off as friends, nightmares and consolations
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-04
Updated: 2016-01-04
Packaged: 2018-05-11 17:48:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 955
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5636191
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spiritcrimson/pseuds/spiritcrimson
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>7-Year old Near has a nightmare and needs Mello for reassurance.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Things you said when you were scared

**Author's Note:**

> this was written about 3 months ago, based off a tumblr prompt.

* * *

 

He wakes up in the middle of the night, shaking and cold. His blankets are sprawled over him, one foot pushing out from under them. He lifts his hand up to his damp cheek, realizes he was crying. He finds it odd and disconcerting. He knows he was crying in his dream—no, nightmare—but of course, it was only a dream. He tries to calm himself down, tries to tell himself that what he saw is not real, that Mello doesn’t hate him. Mello is still Near’s friend.

It’s an odd fear to have. At age 7, fears aren’t unnatural, of course. Some children fear the dark, or the monsters under their beds, some fear clowns and some fear the thunder and lightning. Parents are quick to reassure, however. Nothing’s going to hurt you, they’ll say, and the child will still their crying, blinking up at their parents. A moment later, they’ll smile and nod.

Near’s different, however. He doesn’t fear the dark, because he knows there’s nothing to fear. It’s natural. He doesn’t fear the monsters under his bed, either, because he knows monsters do not exist. Those aren’t his fears.

Near fears being alone, but what he fears most is losing the one friend he has managed to make, the one person who doesn’t believe him to be a freak. He’s never had friends before, always pushed away for being unusual, always isolated. Always alone. And unlike other children, he also doesn’t have parents to reassure him, that his fears are unfounded, that he’s going to be fine, and that people like him.

He can still feel his heart pounding in his chest, though. He can still see the images, still hear those words. He tries to reassure himself, but it’s pointless. He thinks for a moment, considering his options. He can always go to the caretaker assigned to this particular floor, tell her about his nightmare. She might make him feel better, perhaps. He reconsiders. The dream was too real for him. It almost feels like Mello did actually say all of that to him. That is what scares Near the most, and he’s not sure the caretaker will be able to reassure him of anything. He’s not sure the caretaker would be convincing.

Making up his mind, he grabs the teddy bear next to him and slowly moves out of his room. He turns left, walks down the small hallway until he finds the door he’s looking for. He knocks timidly on it. He waits, but there’s no response. He knocks again, louder this time. He hears the shuffling of feet on the other side and brings his hand back to his side, waiting. He’s nervous.

The door opens to reveal Mello’s face, eyes half open and his blond hair a tangled mess. He blinks at his visitor once, twice, then says, “Near? What are you doing here?”

Near stares blankly. He’s not sure how to respond. What should he say?

“Near?”

Near shuffles his feet on the spot, brings his eyes down to them. “I had a nightmare.” He says quietly and Mello has to strain his ear to catch the words. When he does, however, he frowns. Near looks up to meet his eyes.

Mello sighs a little. “You should go to Rosie, our caretaker. She’ll be able to calm you down.”

Near shakes his head. How can he make Mello understand? “No…” his voice is barely a whisper as he continues, “The nightmare was about Mello.”

Mello’s frown deepens. “Me?”

Near nods his head timidly.

“What was it about, then?” Mello asks, leaning against the door frame. “Did I die in front of you or something?”

Near shakes his head. He turns his face away as he says, “I had a nightmare that…Mello hated me and said he won’t play with me anymore.” He suddenly feels very small and very silly and he thinks Mello’s going to really hate him now, or at the very least, he thinks Mello’s going to start thinking of him as a freak, too.

Mello blinks once. “What?”

“I told you…” Near’s voice trails off. “Mello said he doesn’t want to be my friend anymore. That scared me because…” Near looks at Mello, his eyes betraying a myriad of emotions, “because I like playing with Mello and being his friend.”

Mello stares and then a moment later, he laughs. It’s more of a chuckle. He notices Near’s pained look and says, “It was just a dream, silly. I’m still your friend. I don’t hate you, not yet anyway.” At the last sentence, Near’s eyes widen and Mello thinks he might cry so he quickly says, “I’m joking, I’m joking.”

Near nods. There’s a brief silence and then Near asks, “Mello, will you always be my friend?”

Mello looks thoughtful. “I don’t know about always,” he says honestly. He smiles a moment later. “But I can tell you, as long as we’re in this Orphanage together, we’ll be friends.”

Near smiles a little. “Okay,” he says.

Mello steps forward and ruffles Near’s hair. “You know dreams are dreams for a reason, Near. They’re not real. You shouldn’t worry about them.”

“I know,” Near answers. “It’s just that this one felt real.”

Mello steps back into his room, hand on the door handle. “Go back to sleep, Near. We’ll play together tomorrow, I promise.”

Near says, “Goodnight” and then turns around, heading back to his room. He hears the door to Mello’s room close behind him. He enters his own room, closing the door softly behind him and climbs back under his sheets. He sleeps comfortably, hugging the bear close to him. He doesn’t have another nightmare for the remainder of the night.

* * *

 

**Author's Note:**

> Feedback is appreciated!


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